Irish Beef Stew with Guinness - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between beef stew and Irish stew? ›

The main difference between an Irish stew and classic beef stew comes down to the protein. Traditional Irish stew is usually made with lamb, while beef stew is always made with beef. Our version includes beef chuck, which is less traditional, but easy to make and equally delicious.

Stouts, like Guinness, are known for their bitterness. If the stew is cooked too quickly or if it doesn't include ingredients to balance the bitterness, this flavor can be very pronounced.

This Guinness beef stew is a very simple dish, but at the same time, it has a deep, complex, rich flavor. The maltiness of dark beer really does amazing things for the gravy. I served this in a nice ring of green onion-mashed potatoes. I hope you give this a try, whether for Saint Patrick's Day or any time of the year.

I almost always add some beef bouillon crystals to my stew, it helps oomph (yes, a technical term) the beefiness of the stock. Sometimes also use a few shots of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce - both will also add some oomph to the flavor.

In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew. Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour; Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids.

The origins of Irish stew are somewhat shrouded in mystery, but it's believed to have originated in the 17th or 18th century. At that time, the dish was often made by shepherds and rural farmers who had access to only a few ingredients but needed a nourishing meal to sustain them through long days of work.

If you want to thicken your Irish Stew there are several methods. You can make a mixture of flour and water and add it to the simmering liquid or you can do the same with a mix of water and cornstarch. Add either…. around a tablespoon at a time and stir till thickened.

A black and tan is a beer co*cktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half. Black and tan.

Beer adds a rich, earthy flavor to soups and stews that makes them taste like they've been simmering for hours. Beers with a sweet or nutty taste can add depth to desserts. And don't worry about getting drunk – virtually all of the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.

Guinness Stout or Extra Stout produces a dark, rich, flavorful sauce for your marinade that is also an effective meat tenderizer. Use this recipe for any steak, but we like the Rib-Eye, especially if this cut is on sale. If you are cooking for two, choose a nice big thick steak that you can slice and share.

What is Dinty Moore beef stew? ›

For more than 80 years, the DINTY MOORE^® brand has been the trusted name in beef stew. With its fresh cut potatoes and carrots in a rich gravy with large chunks of real beef, DINTY MOORE^® Beef Stew is an affordable complete meal for hard working Americans.

Add some bubbles

And if you haven't got a house to remortgage to get some champagne, give the Poor Man's Black Velvet a try, and throw in some cider instead of champagne. You'll get a similar effect from the bubbles and no one will know otherwise.

But the liquid itself should not be thick in the same way that gravy is thick. So skip the roux, and don't bother dusting the meat with flour or cornstarch before browning, either, as some recipes will suggest. That will just interfere with getting a good sear on the meat, and gum up the stew with unneeded starch.

Tomato paste is an umami flavor tone to help build on the beef flavor of your stew. If you don't have any, look for another umami flavor to build body. Fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce and miso are all good alternatives, used sparingly.

The best cuts of stew meat are lean with a high concentration of collagen-rich connective tissues—such as chuck or shoulder cuts—that also have some fat marbling for flavor. Lean cuts of meat come from parts of the animal that have lots of muscle, like the legs.

Irish stew, "ballymaloe" or "stobhach gaelach" as it is called in Gaelic, traditionally contains chunks of lamb or mutton (less tender meat from sheep more than two years of age), potatoes, onions and parsley. Often the neck bones, shanks and other trimmings were the only basis for the stock.

While Irish stew (in the modern sense) can be made with mutton, lamb, or beef, beef stew is always made with beef. Both stews can contain potatoes, root vegetables, flavorings like beer or wine and herbs, and thickened with potato, flour, cornstarch, or nothing at all.

Irish stew is similar to beef stew; both stews are thick and hearty. However, Irish stew is traditionally made with lamb or mutton instead of beef. Meat and vegetables take up most of the space, so the consistency is very thick and not watery.

The meat in traditional Irish stew is typically mutton or lamb. (Mutton comes from a sheep that's a little older than a lamb.) For this recipe I used lamb because it's easier to find in grocery stores. As far as the vegetables, sticklers for tradition only include potatoes, onions, and water.